


Together

by heeroluva



Category: Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-18 17:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4714400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heeroluva/pseuds/heeroluva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life isn't easy for a pair of Templar brothers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WildAndFreeHearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildAndFreeHearts/gifts).



The moon hung low and full, filling the sky and illuminating the countryside with an unnatural glow. There was a time that Gideon might have been able to appreciate the ethereal beauty, but not know, with the scent of smoke and blood still clinging to them. Even the slight cover of the tree that they sheltered under did little to shadow them, and despite knowing how light a sleeper Kaden was, knowing how badly his brother needed the rest, Gideon couldn’t stop himself from pushing the back the unruly curls that fell over Kaden’s face, from reaching to smooth over the tense lines that twisted his features, wondering what demons tormented his brother this night.

How Gideon wished that he could shoulder Kaden’s burdens, but no matter the teachings of the Chantry and the Order, he lacked the ability to walk the Fade as mages did. Freezing when Kaden stirred, Gideon finally let himself relax as the tension slowly left his brother’s frame, and he seemed to sink into a deeper sleep. 

The Chantry had been a home to them for nearly all their lives. Gideon’s first memory had been of blood and screams, followed by too much silence stretching for what seemed like days (and possibly was) before the rattle of armor and crunch of boots on leaves gave way to the face of a templar peering into the wreckage of their overturned wagon as Gideon had tried to shield a crying Kaden from their view. They were lucky he would grow to know, that they’d been found by Templars instead of slavers, lucky that they’d been found at all. 

Each of them had grown up hoping to be selected for Templar training, knowing that it was a privilege rather than a right, wishing to serve the Maker who had spared them. Gideon had grown tall and strong, and when he had turned sixteen it hadn’t been a shock that he was selected for further training. What had been the shock was that they wanted to send him away for special training beyond what could be taught at the small Chantry that they called home. 

For the two days leading up to Gideon’s departure, Kaden was nowhere to be found. The morning Gideon was set to leave, Kaden appeared bright eyed and sheepish and pressed a small carving into hand. 

“For protection,” Kaden had whispered.

Uncurling his fingers, Gideon had gazed down at the rough hewed wood, wondering what it was supposed to be. Before he could asked, Kaden had thrown himself at Gideon, wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug, before letting go just as quickly and disappearing as quickly as he appeared. 

Gideon knew that there was no time to follow, and with a heavy heart climbed atop his waiting mount. It had taken him a month to realize the carving had been of a wolf.

It would be two years before Gideon would see his brother again, the letters they exchange as frequently as they were able not enough. Gideon begged to be assigned at the Chantry where he’d grown up instead of continuing his tenure the Circle as was usual for young Templars, despite having realized that such posting where normally given to Templars long past their prime. The Knight Commander had put a condition on his return, that his posting would last until brother reached sixteen whether he was recruited or not. 

What Gideon found in Kaden was all long limbs and clumsiness at thirteen as he struggled to get used to his growing body. Despite their previous closeness, things had been somewhat awkward between them. When Gideon had left, Kaden had still seen him as a boy. And the man he was confronted with was a stranger. 

It hadn’t helped that Kaden had pulled the disappearing act again, something that had been great when they were children hiding from the Sisters but was less so when Gideon was the one doing the searching. Taking a break from training, Gideon had sat beneath an old apple tree, its branch heavy with fruit and pulled the old wolf carving from pouch he wore around his neck beneath his armor. The rough edges had long since been worn smooth from his handlings. 

“You kept it.”

Gideon had nearly yelped at Kaden’s sudden appearance, fumbling not to drop the wolf. “Yes.”

“I didn’t think you would.” 

“I didn’t want to forget.”

Kaden had stared at him for a long moment before throwing himself into Gideon’s arms with a sob. 

After that, things didn’t quite go back to how it once was between them—they’d both grown and changed too much in the years between—but they grew closer again, the distance between them no longer insurmountable.

As the years passed, Kaden had grown quickly, and at sixteen he’d already been as tall as Gideon and hadn’t shown any sign of stopping anytime soon. When Kaden was officially selected for training, it had come as no shock, Gideon and the other Templars at their Chantry teaching Kaden what they could, and with more than a bit of sadness they’d left their little Chantry behind perhaps for good. 

Kaden’s training had been… _different_ than Gideon’s own, Kaden picking on things faster than Gideon had, showing an affinity for certain skills that Gideon hadn’t and had gone along for training more specialized than ever Gideon’s own and that had kept them mostly separated. 

When Kaden had finally taken his vows, he’d been _different_ , more serious and focused than held a hatred of mages that had truly worried Gideon, and had caused one very memorable yelling match. With Kaden’s skill and attitude, it had been no surprised that he’d been selected to be a mage hunter. It wasn’t the path that Gideon would have chosen for either of them, but there was no way that Gideon was going to let Kaden travel such a path alone. 

It shouldn’t have been so strange that they were both good at what they did, and honestly there were days that Gideon worried about what they did, about the choices that they made. 

Everything changed when Kaden was nineteen and Gideon twenty-four. They’d been following the trail of a maleficar whose tastes ran towards small children. Instead of finding her, she had found them, hitting Kaden with a spell before either of them could get a smite off. Gideon’s smite had flooded the area, and Gideon had been on the ground beside Kaden who had been writhing on the dirt before her head, separated from her body, had time to hit the ground. 

Gideon certainly hadn’t expected Kaden to surge forward into him, the plates of their armor clashing together loudly as Kaden’s mouth crashed over his in a bruising kiss. While a part of him noted that it must have been a lust spell, the rest of him was frozen in shock because this was his _brother_. And it was that thought that had him moving, not away as he should have, but closer, pushing Kaden back instead of casting cleanse as he should have. 

The next instance Gideon had been on his back ten feet away because Kaden had _pushed_ him, not with his arm, but with a _force spell_. 

The smite Gideon cast had been instinctive, unintentional, but the horror and betrayal on Kaden’s face for that split second before it had hit him had been like a dagger to Gideon’s heart. Staggering to his feet, the force that he’d hit the ground with more than he cared to admit, he collapsed at Kaden’s side, mind racing to match the blood rushing through his ears. 

Gideon had heard of it before, mages who found their magic later in life instead of childhood, but it was rare. And that it was Kaden of all people. Stomach suddenly twisting in remembrance of the Harrowings he’d attended, the failed ones where it wasn’t just the mage who came back or even worse when nothing came back, if that had been Kaden—Gideon had lost his lunch. 

Magic—and thus mages—wasn’t to be trusted the Chantry taught. It was up to the Order to protect people from… people like Kaden? Surely that was wrong?

It had been no shock that Kaden was gone when he woke up the next morning. 

Just as in their youth, Kaden was still good at disappearing, but Gideon had learned much over the years, and the path that he had followed had made it clear that Kaden hadn’t been thinking clearly, not even trying to cover his tracks. 

When he’d finally caught up to Kaden, it had been almost picturesque, the way the setting sun had shone against Kaden’s armor, but all Gideon had been able to see was how very close Kaden had been stranding to the edge of the cliff, the way that he’d seemed so much smaller than normal, despite being nearly a head taller than Gideon. 

Gideon had feared speaking, feared what Kaden had been thinking, what he might do. When Kaden’s head had turned towards him, the sight of his tear stained face had twisted the knife deeper into his heart. 

“I won’t go to the tower,” Kaden had said, voice shaky.

“I wouldn’t take you there,” Gideon had replied, even knowing that not doing so broke his vows.

Turning back to watch the sun finish sinking below the horizon, Kaden had said, “Tis death then.” 

“No!” Gideon had exclaimed, rushing forward to pull Kaden back from the edge, turning him around and shaking him. “We’ll run if you want, find you a hedge mage, someone who can teach you.”

Kaden’s eyes had been wide and shocked. “What?”

“Fuck, Kaden. Did you really think I’d turn you in or kill you? That those were the only answers?” Stepping back, voice sharp with pain he’d asked, “Is that the kind of monster you think I am?” 

“You kissed me,” Kaden had said, voice soft and accusatory.

Stomach twisting, Gideon had looked away, knowing there was no point in lying. “Yes.”

“Why?”

Such a simple question, on the surface, but a weighted one. Finally Gideon had said, “You’re my brother.” The silence had stretched between them, but really what more could he have said? That he loved his brother more than was appropriate, that he would do anything for him, give up everything for him? That he never would have acted on his feelings if he hadn’t been in that situation, that he’d never do it again if Kaden asked? That the only thing he couldn’t do was leave him, even if Kaden wanted him to? 

“Brothers don’t do _that_.”

“No,” Gideon had agreed because it was the truth. But he’d _wanted_ it.

Kaden had suddenly pushed up against him, so close that Gideon had been forced to tip his head back to maintain eye contact. His eyes had been wet but determined, and when his mouth had brushed against Gideon’s, his gaze had held a challenge. Gideon was never one to back down from a dare, and it had been no different in that instant. What was one more complication in their lives now? 

After that night, theirs had been a live of carefully guarded secrets, the possibility of one false move causing everything to topple. 

Then some crazy mage had gone and blown up a Chantry, and the world had gone to shit before finally descending into chaos. Lines had been drawn and sides had been picked, and Gideon and Kaden had been stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no other choice but to run. In a way it had been a welcome reprieve at first, the lack of responsibilities, not needing to hide. It had been easy to travel as a pair of Templars at first, most of the common folk still holding them in regard. 

But war was not kind and slowly it had spread. Templars and mages and their war was unwelcome everywhere, and bandits and slavers had free reign in the turmoil. 

Before they war, they’d found an old women, a hedge mage who lived in the wilds, visiting when their query took them near, and slowly Kaden had learned control of his magic, but when his emotions ran high, his magic flared. Just as it had this night at the site of Templars raiding a town. Templars were supposed to protect people, not _this_. Outnumbered as they had been, Gideon had practically had to drag Kaden away, the killing edge running high through Kaden despite the smite that had hit him. 

Gideon understood the rage, the desire to stay and help. To fight. But dead, they were no use to anyone. 

And now they were here alone, and Gideon wondered if it was all worth it. If the Chantry had it right or if they were as corrupt as they mages claimed. If the war would end before everything was lost. If Kaden regretted their choices.

“You think too much,” Kaden suddenly murmured, hand rising to cover Gideon’s hand where it still rested on his cheek. “Deep thoughts for the middle of the night.”

Gideon slid down so that he was lying beside Kaden instead of reclining, resting his head on Kaden’s shoulder. “Do you ever regret—” 

“No,” Kaden interrupted.

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“I know what goes through that head of yours. And in this crazy world, the only thing that’s keeping me together is you, that you’re by my side. That’s all that matters.”

Gideon’s chest suddenly unclenched, the weight he hadn’t realized was suffocating him suddenly gone. Pulling out the pouch from beneath his armor, Gideon set his prize on Kaden’s chest, warmed by his unexpected laughter, a sound that Gideon hadn’t heard for far too long.

“I can’t believe you still have that horrible thing.”

“You gave it to me.”

“For protection,” Kaden said, repeating the words from so long ago. Kaden folded Gideon’s fingers over the carving. “Maybe this was my first work of magic, praying that you’d come back to me whole and unharmed.”

“Maybe it was,” Gideon agreed. 

“It was you who taught me that when we’re together, we can do anything. We’ll survive this, you and I, together. And we’ll find a place. Just wait and see.”

Gideon wanted to believe that, wanted a world where they weren’t constantly on the run, but Gideon wasn’t the optimistic type. However, with Kaden’s words he could almost hope. But for now, this, them together was enough.


End file.
